The view from China Peak is beautiful, both in the aesthetic sense, and the financial.

Instead of the barren hills we saw a month ago, the slopes are now covered with snow and the resort is ready to open Saturday.

A Thanksgiving open would've been ideal, but opening in time for the Christmas holidays -- and with almost no help from the snowmaking machines -- is a boon for business. And business looks good.

"It's never really big until you get to the 26th," said Tim Cohee. "This is sort of pre-game, but every indication we have from phone calls, from the hits on our website, from media calls tell me people are pretty anxious."

Some are so anxious, in fact, they drove up the mountain a day early. Deanna Naurath came from Fresno, hoping for an introduction to snow sports.

"I want to learn how to snow ski," said Deanna. "I've never snow skied and it's on my bucket list."

China Peak is working hard to win customers like her with special deals on lessons and even season passes for less than $100. But they're also after people like her son Charles, a more experienced skier who's been here before. For him and many others in the Central Valley, storms bring a magnetic force to the mountain.

"Hearing that we had two feet of snow in the last week-ish," said Charles. "That's a lot of snow for China Peak. It's gonna be a lot of fun here."

Expectations are very high at China Peak and if the weather cooperates maybe they'll turn a good start into a great season.